Kid-friendly? How about just making it taste good

Feeding toddlers - make that, getting them to eat healthy, nutritious things -- is a tricky thing. I know - I have two of them. But I'm not sure disguising broccoli as something else or spending inordinate amounts of time shaping food into dinosaurs and stars and Mickey Mouse heads is the best way to go.

That's why I love the two wonderful recipes from chefs Phillip Foss and Kristine Subido in today's Food cover story on helping kids develop an appreciation for other cultures' foods. Meatballs and noodles are both inherently kid-friendly, but these dishes aren't dumbed down either. Subido's rice noodles have an aggressive gingery bite, and Foss' turkey meatballs have a pleasant twist thanks to cinnamon and Coca-Cola.

A note on Subido's noodles: Indonesian sweet soy sauce, or as Subido calls it, 'ABC sauce,' is the key here. It has a can't-miss red label and is available in Asian grocery stores (I found it at Joong Boo Market, a Korean market at 3333 N. Kimball.) It comes in sweet, medium sweet and salty flavors; drizzle the sweet sauce over any stir-fried, or use it in marinades. You'll swear it tastes just like what you order from your neighborhood Thai joint.